Comments on: About Trends in Photography | David Williams

By: Evan Baines

Evan Baines — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:01:50 +0000

Found my way here through DWF Randy. This post is spot on, and very timely (in a timeless sort of way).

-E

By: Steve Z

Steve Z — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:43:52 +0000

David is a class act, some of his ideas regarding family portraiture as family heirlooms have stayed with me. Still meaning to check out some of the classic fine artwork for posing and lighting ideas as well.

By: Jamie Bosworth

Jamie Bosworth — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Two of my very favorite photographers, Randy… thank you for sharing David Williams very valid worries.
Form and light will always come first and we have to see it before we can photograph it.

Ever seen Lillian Bassman’s work?
She had the form and the light in her original works but decades later took some of them into the darkroom bleaches and made stunning new work out of stunning old work.

By: Randy

Randy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:39:27 +0000

It is interesting to note that even with trends, things come back in style. What makes one trend timeless and classic. Why do certain clothing items never seem to go out of style? Something to ponder.

By: Gill Taylor

Gill Taylor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:39:33 +0000

Agree. But then a girl IS allowed to crow over classy clothing ! LOL

Too many photographers these days try to polish mediochre images within PS … isn’t it a joy to get them bang on right in-camera?

These are beautiful images, Randy, thanks for pushing me to yet another great book purchase (or 2)

FWIW, I still think these photos / poses were ahead of their time.

By: Randy

Randy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:31:16 +0000

Thanks for the comment. I think that we are talking about two things here. Fashion and image making. The point David was making is that these fashion images are NOT about a reflection of trendy photographic technique. It was about the content of the image, the way it was framed, the simplicity of black and white and the beautiful light.

These photos are NOT over processed. They are not cross processed or toned or retouched apart from the original vision of the artist. They are timeless in the sense that they are not a reflection of the photography trend that was present at the time. It’s about sensitivity, feel and LIGHT!

By: Gill Taylor

Gill Taylor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:09:20 +0000

Interesting read, thanks for posting.

You mention “apart from the obvious give-away of clothing fashions” … fashions come around time and time again, in some form or another (yes, even the God-awful 80′s LOL) and so “timeless” is a relative term … some clothing is “timeless” (I still have my trusty pencil skirts)- a great photo will NEVER go out of fashion (read: Henri Cartier Bresson, Mario Testino, to name a couple).

But here’s the thing … were these photos “trendy” for their time?